German authorities have taken custody of more than €2 billion worth of Bitcoin from one of the operators of the now-defunct movie piracy portal, movie2k.to.
The funds were voluntarily transferred to officials by the site's programmer, who has been in pre-trial detention since 2019. The movie2k.to portal, known for its illegal distribution of films and TV series, operated between autumn 2008 and May 2013, distributing over 880,000 illegal copies. In 2020, the site's programmer, already in custody, handed over control of the domain and Bitcoins worth €25 million to authorities as “compensation for damages.”
As part of the ongoing investigation, a suspected operator of movie2k.to transferred almost 50,000 Bitcoins to the Federal Criminal Police Office. The inquiry is focused on a 40-year-old and a 37-year-old man, suspected of cooperating a “leading German” portal for illegal copies until the end of May 2013. The suspects are believed to have purchased Bitcoins with the proceeds from their illicit activities.
The site's programmer remains in custody, while other movie2k.to administrators are still at large and believed to possess similar Bitcoin holdings as they were were early adopters of cryptocurrency.
According to the spokesperson for the Saxony State Criminal Police Office, this seizure of Bitcoins by law enforcement authorities marks the most extensive action in Germany to date. The Bitcoins were transferred to a designated wallet of the BKA (Federal Criminal Police Office), and a decision on their utilization is yet to be finalized. As of now, no charges have been filed, but the investigations continue.